Toddler dies after choking on chips in UAE

A 14-month-old Emirati girl choked to death after a piece of chip she was eating got stuck in her throat in Ras Al Khaimah on Tuesday evening. Her parents rushed her to the nearest hospital in a critical condition.
The toddler could not breathe because the chip totally blocked her trachea, according to sources.
"The parents turned their baby upside down and slapped her back several times in an effort to dislodge it from her throat, but to no avail."
The doctors tried hard to resuscitate her several times, but couldn't. She was shortly declared dead.
"The girl's brain was deprived of oxygen for a long time due to a blocked airway, and her face turned blue due to lack of oxygen."
The girl - based in Wadi Shaam - was moved to the morgue of the hospital and later buried at the Al Waaeb Cemetery.
Back in 2018, RAK reported a similar tragedy when a two-year-old Emirati boy died after choking on a piece of grape.
Monitor them constantly
Dr Engy Ziada, a specialist paediatrician, urged all parents to take first aid training courses to better deal with such emergency situations.
"The life of a person is at peril if his or her brain is deprived of air for more than four minutes."
She also advised parents to keep hard stuffs away from their toddlers. "Parents should also cut fruit into small pieces when given to their children, and always observe them while eating."
"If the baby turns blue, parents are advised to start CPR, and call the emergency services for help."
Dr Dhiraj Sidagonda, specialist paediatrician, told Khaleej Times that a child's windpipe size (in diameter) is almost the same as that of a drinking straw.
"Parents need to be careful while feeding their children, and choose the right food, and keep items and toys out of their reach."
4^th leading cause of 'unintentional injury' death
According to Injury Facts 2017, choking is the fourth leading cause of 'unintentional injury' death.
There are 100,000 unintentional childhood injuries, including choking, according to the Children Health and Environment Report by the World Health Organisation. The Middle East and the region has a whopping 40 per cent unintentional or choking-related incidents in children, whereas Europe has 7.9-25.4 per cent a year.
Global child injury deaths by choking, smothering, asphyxiation and animal bites for children aged 0-17 is 31.1 per cent. Moreover, 16.8 per cent of global child injury deaths is caused by drowning. Children under five years of age have the highest drowning mortality rates worldwide, with New Zealand and Canada as an exception.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com